


Scarlet

by CosmicBrownie



Series: The Hargreeves Kids (Pre-Season One Fics) [7]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Age 16 or 17, Boys Kissing, Eventual Smut, Five never left AU, Kinktober 2020, M/M, Masturbation, Masturbation in Shower, NSFW Art, Pseudo-Incest, Telepathy, UST, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:02:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26893384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicBrownie/pseuds/CosmicBrownie
Summary: Quickly, the ring on Ben's hand turned unmistakably scarlet.Ben and Diego, still casually holding Ben’s hand, both looked at Klaus, who was scanning the card for Ben’s result. “It says you are…”He stopped, eyebrows lifting drastically. He almost laughed. “You’re sexually aroused.”Ben's eyes widened."It...does that when it gets warm."
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves
Series: The Hargreeves Kids (Pre-Season One Fics) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1892047
Kudos: 28





	1. Bad Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> I debated for a while the setting I wanted for this story, and eventually landed on this. Anyway, enjoy this rare pair!

Diego may not have been smart like Five or Ben or Vanya. But he was smart enough to know, that if Klaus was going on about some crazy idea of his, it was usually better not to engage with him. If he did, he risked Klaus making it an even bigger deal. He'd do things like make some risky plan of rebellion behind their Dad's back and beg Diego to help him all day if he even entertained the idea, then by the next day, completely forget about it.

So the next day when he came into class and found Klaus emphatically showing something to Ben, that same tone of voice that said he was trying to ask him to do something for him, Diego decided to try to lay low and not ask. Silently sliding into his seat, he got out his books.

"I got it from this seller who was telling me how it's like, totally legit because they make them with this super scientific research and everything, and even use psychics and telepaths and stuff to make sure it works. Not sure about the last part, 'cause I'm fairly certain that I'm the only psychic that has actually ever existed and all, but this thing is like, super real," Klaus ranted. Then he inclined his chin proudly. "I managed to haggle the price down to fifteen bucks."

" _Fifteen dollars?_ I hate to break it to you, but you got hustled, Klaus," Ben explained disappointedly. Diego considered jumping in to the conversation and asking Ben about the test they had that day in order to save the poor boy from Klaus's sales pitch. He looked up at him to find he was already staring back, a flash of concern in his eyes. Diego smirked, giving him a look of apology in return. Ben smiled.

Klaus went on. "The point is, I've been trying it all day, and it has _totally_ been able to guess my mood." Diego then realized Klaus was holding up a ring in his hand. A mood ring. He raised his eyebrows, somewhat interested.

"That's nice. But, _and I say this with love_ , why do I care?" Ben asked, chuckling. Diego laughed too. That was a mistake.

"Diego, come on, surely you want to test it out, right?" Klaus asked. And if he was being honest with himself, Diego really kind of did. The idea of a ring that could guess your mood was kind of cool to him.

He knew he shouldn't have, but he shrugged and said, "Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Just don't make me hear about it for hours if it says I'm, I don't know, 'sad' or whatever."

Klaus jumped up, eyes widening. "Yes!" he cheered, skipping over to Diego's seat. He handed him the ring, watching excitedly as Diego put it on. Diego spared Ben a glance, who was looking at him gratefully, then slipped it over his ring finger. He and Klaus studied it closely for a while, watching in amazement as it turned from a blank white to a bright hue of orange. Klaus tapped his chin.

“What does it mean?” Diego asked, forgetting to sound aloof and uninterested in the results. Klaus then took out from his back pocket a card with a couple dozen squares. “Woah,” he said. “That’s quite the chart.”

“Like I said before, this thing is really good. It has like every emotion from flabbergasted to horny. Now, orange right? Let’s see.” Klaus studied the small sheet, then pointed. “Aha! Here it is!” he proclaimed, setting the card down and pointing out the orange square. “It says that you are excited!”

“Doesn’t sound right. I mean, here, look, there’s a light orange one that says that I’m irritated or annoyed,” Diego protested, pointing out a yellow-orange color somewhere else. “That’s got to be it.” Klaus shook his head before they both leaned in close, studying the sheet as Diego held up the ring to both. Neither could definitively claim it was one or the other.

“Klaus, this is stupid. You could just ask Diego how he feels,” Ben said, head in his book from his desk. 

Klaus put a hand to his hip. “Oh yeah? Well why don’t you try it, then? I bet it will guess your emotion perfectly. Come on.”

Ben looked up, unimpressed.

Diego shrugged, taking off the ring and watching it turn back slowly to the color white. “I don’t see why not. It’s just for stupid fun, like astrology.” Ben raised his eyebrows at that, seemingly convinced by Diego rather than Klaus. He was quiet.

“Hey, astrology is real, you know,” Klaus spoke. “Gemini’s are _always_ bitches, and that’s a god damn scientific fact.”

“Klaus, we are all Libra’s, and totally different. That should be all the proof you need alone that it’s all bullshit.” Klaus looked disturbed.

“I’ll try it,” Ben chimed in quietly. The boys turned, to see Ben looking assuredly at them. “I’ll try the mood ring.”

Klaus clapped his hands together. Diego rose from his seat and went to Ben’s, nodding. “Okay.”

Diego took his hand suddenly, not noticing how Ben’s eyes widened and he jumped, surprised by the touch. His soft, smaller hand shook in Diego’s. Both of them watched, Ben with big eyes, as Diego slid the ringer onto his finger slowly and carefully. While it was small on Diego, it was certainly a lot looser on Ben.

Quickly, the ring turned unmistakably scarlet.

Ben and Diego, still casually holding Ben’s hand, both looked at Klaus, who was scanning the card for Ben’s result. “It says you are…” 

He stopped, eyebrows lifting drastically. He almost laughed. “You’re sexually aroused.”

Diego almost choked. He did a double take, looking at the ring and then Klaus again. Then he looked at Ben, who appeared mortified. His face was frozen, growing more red and shocked by the second. He withdrew his hand.

“Gimme that,” Diego ordered, snatching the card away from Klaus, who scoffed. He held it up to Ben’s hand, taking it again despite how Ben’s fingers went stiff in his. “It’s not that, it’s…” His mouth closed as he looked between them.

There was no mistaking it. The color on the ring matched the color on the paper exactly. Diego decided to deny it by searching for the next closest thing, a light strawberry color, but his eyes went big when he saw the description of that.

‘Romantic’.

Ben yanked his hand away, taking off the ring in a hurry. “Th-this is stupid! It’s not true!” he shouted, throwing it across the room as Klaus yelped. Diego tried to manipulate the trajectory, and failed. Luckily, though, a hand swooped in and caught it in the doorway.

“What the heck is this?” Allison asked in bemusement as she stepped through the door. “Who’s scarlet ring is this? It’s kind of pretty,” she remarked, looking at it closely as she turned it over in her hand. Klaus marched up and took it.

“Mine,” he answered. “It’s my mood ring.”

“Oh, cool. Can I give it a go?” Allison asked, eyes sparkling as she watched the ring return to white. 

“Sure can,” he replied, swiping the card from Diego, who was still in a state of thought, and handing Allison the ring. She placed it on her finger with a hum. 

After a moment, she said, “Green.”

Klaus looked at his paper. “You’re either sick, tired or disgusted.”

Allison cocked an eyebrow. “Well, I’m not sick. At least not yet. And I'm not tired. Five just made me some coffee for the test. Are you sure this thing is legit?”

At the same time Ben firmly answered, “No,” while Diego said, “Yes.” They looked at each other.

“It’s for real. It even guessed Ben’s secret feelings for Diego,” Klaus whispered loudly to her. She looked confused. Diego looked embarrassed. Ben threw his book at him. This time, Diego didn’t bother to try to change it’s trajectory. Klaus deserved it.

“Ouch! Hey!” he whined. “That book was really big.”

“War and Peace,” Ben said simply.

“Well, you can ‘war and _peace_ ’ off. Don’t assault me because it’s true,” Klaus mocked, folding his arms.

Ben blushed harder. “It’s not!”

“It is so.”

“Is not!”

“What are you buffoons' bleating about today?” Five asked in annoyance, announcing himself before he even entered the room. He warped over to his seat, setting his books and a mug of coffee down there, which he would surely finish and get rid of before he The Monocle saw.

Klaus plucked the ring from Allison’s finger in response and held it up. Five cocked a brow. “What’s that?”

“It’s a mood ring,” Klaus answered proudly. “Wanna try?”

“Will you bother me about it for the rest of class if I say no, or for longer?” Five asked, sighing. Klaus grinned, extending the ring in his direction as an offer, knowing Five’s question was probably rhetorical.

“Alright, let’s see this,” Five muttered, blinking to Klaus and taking it from his hand and then slipping it on his own. As he held it up in the air to everyone, they all watched as it turned a saturated pigment of yellow.

Diego spoke up. "That means that you're annoyed, apparently."

"Huh," Five said, looking at it with impressed surprise. "It's accurate."

-

Diego couldn’t think for the rest of class. He tried and failed not to stare at Ben, wondering about the results of that mood ring.

It was probably fake. It didn't mean anything. Klaus was wrong. The mood ring was probably just a bunch of bull.

-

"Alright, that's it, who the hell is in there?" Diego groaned in frustration, pounding on the bathroom door. He'd been waiting to get in for over ten minutes, now. "I have to get in there before training!"

After a moment, a shaky voice answered back. "Occupied. Now leave me alone!"

"Allison?" Diego asked, gentler now. "Are you alright in there?"

"I'm fine," she managed, just before the sound of gagging and something splashing into the toilet. "Just barfing up a gallon of coffee," she gasped.

Diego was good at unlocking doors. He unlocked and opened the bathroom door to see Allison on the floor, holding up her hair and faced down into the toilet bowl. She looked up at him a smiled shortly, then abruptly leaned back over the bowl to vomit into it again.

"Oh, Christ. Want me to go get mom?" Diego offered, feeling sorry for her and surprised to see her there on the ground. She shook her head. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" he asked, stepping over slowly and grabbing her hair gently. Allison gratefully let go as he took all of her dark curls into his hand. Wiping her lip, she said, "Thanks."

Diego nodded. "Of course. So what happened? Eat something bad?"

Allison shook her head again. "Drank. I think it was that coffee Five made for me."

Diego thought. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I'll be fine," Allison said. She gagged again. 

Diego suddenly gasped, mind reeling. He remembered something, and his heart began to race.

The mood ring. It had said Allison was either sick, or going to be. At the time, Diego had used it to justify it's lack of legitimacy, and push away the idea that it had predicted something about Ben. But now?

He swallowed nervously. It knew. It was right. 

Was it right about other things?


	2. Jane Eyre

Diego didn't mean to run into Ben in the hallway that night, but he did.

He was turning the corner on the stairs, moving fast when they both collided at the landing. 

"Ouch!" Ben exclaimed as their foreheads knocked together, falling backwards onto the stairs and Diego stumbled to regain his balance. When Diego recognized the boy's voice, his eyes shot open, and he gasped.

Ben opened his eyes and looked up at him. "Oh, Diego," he squeaked. "Hi."

Diego blinked at him for a moment before he apologised. "Hi," he said, extending a hand. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, it's nothing, my bad," Ben chuckled, shaking his head. "Sorry."

"What are you doing here?" Diego asked curiously.

Ben looked confused. "In my own house?"

"I _mean_ , what are you doing up at this time of night?" Diego clarified. It was 2:37 the last time he had checked.

There was a pause.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Diego couldn't sleep. He decided he was going to walk around the mansion instead. It seemed like a stupid idea now.

Eager to change the subject, he realized that the book Ben had been holding had fallen to his feet, and bent to pick it up. He handed it back. "Oh, hey, Jane Eyre. Cool," he said, glancing at the cover that bore the same title. "I started that once was I was bored, and got even _more_ bored."

Ben looked shyly down at the book. "Oh, yeah. Hah." As he took it from Diego, their hands brushed together, and Ben snatched the book away quickly. Even in the darkness, Diego could make out a rosy hue on his cheeks and a wideness to his thin eyes. Illuminated in the dim glow of light from upstairs, Diego could just make out the outline of his pale face and his dark features that accentuated it.

It's not as if Diego hadn't noticed it before, but Ben was really pretty.

"So, what's up with Jane?" Diego coughed, tearing his eyes away from Ben's.

Ben rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at his book again. "Oh, well, uh, I only just started. So she's locked in this room where her uncle died as punishment for fighting with her abusive cousin, and she thinks she sees his ghost and faints."

"Oh, weird. Like Klaus?" Diego chuckled.

Ben laughed, but his eyes still tracked downward at the cover of Jane Eyre. "Yeah, I guess. But less about super powers and more about anxiety."

They both chuckled again, and silence filled the space between them. Awkward silence.

Ben then glanced down at their feet, and his eyes widened. He bent over quickly, scrambling in a panic to collect something else next to Diego's feet that he hadn't noticed before. Diego's gaze followed him down, and he barely noticed, just before Ben managed to tuck it back under his shirt, a torn out magazine page bearing an almost nude underwear model.

A male underwear model.

Diego pretended not to notice or have recognized it, though, as Ben rushed to tuck it under his shirt inconspicuously and collect himself. He asked, "What was that?"

"Nothing," Ben lied quickly, brushing past Diego. As their shoulders brushed past each other, he felt Ben go tense. "Goodnight, Diego," the boy said as he rushed back to his room.

After the door down the hall slammed shut, Diego stood there alone in the dark for another minute before leaving.

“Goodnight,” he answered quietly into the darkness.

-

Letting the warm water run over his body, Diego let out a long sigh.

It's not like Diego was thinking about it all the time. It's not like the idea was keeping him up at night, either. It's not like he was extremely aware of every time they were in the same room together, and whether or not he looked fine, and how whether or not he was acting weird to Ben, or Ben to him. It wasn’t like he had some silly, schoolgirl crush.

It's just that, for the past few days, it started to fill up all the empty space in his life.

He reached up and tilted the shower head so the stream of water was higher.

When his mind drifted off in class, he turned and looked at Ben and watched as he took notes on what Pogo or their father was saying. When his mind was normally blank during mealtime, he stared across the table to see what book Ben was possessing himself with. He was clearly a good reader; It was a new one every day. Then whenever he had a moment to spare between his routinely life at the academy, there it was in his mind. There he was.

It seemed so obvious now, but it was striking for Diego to learn that Ben probably liked boys, too. It was oddly comforting. He knew Klaus did, and before, that was enough, but it was more than nice to hear that Ben was also queer. It made him feel warm in the same way he felt like he was glowing whenever he made eye contact with him, or had a moment to sit and stare at his beautiful, serene face and admire his quiet demeanor. It wasn't just comforting because he didn't feel as alone, though.

He groaned, putting his face in his hands and then beginning to scrub shampoo through his dark, wet hair.

He missed that Ben and he weren't close anymore. It's not that they were distant, either. They just weren't best friends. Not like when they were kids. When they were kids, he and Ben would get into mischief, and share secrets, and play together whenever they could. Now, he felt strange asking him about Jane fucking Eyre. He felt strange asking him about anything, really, but that was mostly because his stomach had been doing nervous loops everytime he said anything to him lately.

It was all because of that stupid mood ring incident. It was that stupid color on that stupid ring that was making him feel these stupid, stupid feelings. Now, everything either of them did was weird and felt like something to be noted. Something that revealed something to Diego. If only Klaus didn't show off that stupid fifteen dollar ring.

He scrubbed the conditioner through his hair vigorously.

But was the ring correct? It was right about everyone else's emotions, sometimes before they even knew they were feeling it. Was it right about Ben? Did Ben like Diego? Did he feel romantic around him? Did he feel... _'sexually aroused'_? 

Diego shut off the water.

With a sigh, he reached over and took the towel from the rack and wrapped it around himself. His heart was starting to race. It was all too much for him. The curiosity beginning to well up inside him was also starting to call upon some other feeling deep down, and he had to ignore it before it became too much to bear.

He began to head out of the stall, quietly turning the corner, when he heard something and stopped.

In another stall, where Diego had failed to acknowledge water was running before, someone's voice carried over. A sweet, small, male voice. It was just a little sigh and first, then a little whimper, then another and another. 

Almost silently, Diego began to stalk over to the stall and peered his head in. He was moving on autopilot, instinctively heading toward the sound rather than acting consciously. When he turned all the way around the corner, to his surprise, he saw Ben there.

His back was turned, exposing his entire back side and ass to Diego, who's eyes were moving up and down his slender frame. Now more thoughtfully, he memorized the way the boy's back arched and his ass curved and his legs looked exposed until the moment struck him and he realized he shouldn't be here. He stayed a moment longer, though, feeling that warmth deep inside him begin to stir again.

Ben turned a little, dropping his head back and moaning, and Diego's eyes shot open. Realization struck him as he looked down and saw that Ben was stroking his dick. He didn't tear his eyes away though, eyes darting from his hard member to his flushed, debauched face. Ben creased his dark eyebrows and bit his lip, trying to suppress his groan as he began to twist his wrist and pick up the pace.

Diego felt his own cock begin to grow as he watched, unable to find the sense to pull his eyes away. Instead, he held his breath and backed up so he was not as visible in the opening of the stall and continued to stare. 

Ben let out a long, breathy sigh and looked down at himself, eyes glassy and his lips beautifully parted. His grip on his dick tightened and he rubbed his thumb over the slit at the head and let out a loud mewl.

This was wrong. Diego knew he was violating his privacy. But he just couldn't will himself to leave. His dick was aching to be touched now, fully hard beneath his towel, and his heart beating a million miles a minute. He cupped himself through the fabric of the towel and nearly groaned. Self-consciously, he looked around the showers to see if anyone was there. Breath hitching, he started to palm himself and looked back at Ben's beautiful, intimate display.

Ben was clearly close now, stroking his length up and down much faster now, like he was trying to reach his climax. His chest was rising and falling rapidly, his breaths coupled by pretty whines and short gasps. _He's so god damn gorgeous_ , Diego thought as he reached beneath the towel and grasped himself. _He doesn't even know he's putting on a show for me._

Whines and gasps turned to moans of pleasure as Ben's hips began to rocking with his quick, needy strokes, and precome spilled down with the water that was coursing over his pale, lean, gorgeous body. One arm leaned against the shower wall, his mouth agape and his face tight and unashamedly full of all of his need as his hand twisted and fumbled from head to base over and over. Diego felt close to finishing himself, now.

Then he came, moaning like a porn star and his whole body tensing as his hand milked out his whole orgasm until he was spent. Slowly, he began to relax and his movements began to slow as he came into the rush of water flowing over his body. 

Then after rinsing off his hand, he continued his shower as if nothing was amiss.

Diego left in a hurry, feeling mortified.

-

Damn that stupid mood ring.

Diego shoved a pillow into his face, groaning. This _was_ beginning to keep him up at night. His mind was racing, even though the whole voyeur incident had happened over a couple hours before. He felt disgusting. He felt shameful. He felt embarrassed and sick and in love and horny and just _wrong_. He had no idea how he would manage to look Ben in the eyes tomorrow, and yet, Ben didn't even know Diego had seen. He didn't know Diego had gotten off to the thought of it twice already, and that the sight of it was driving him crazy. He didn't know how much Diego wanted to know if it was him that Ben had been thinking about as he finished. 

_Damn_ that stupid mood ring.

It hadn't meant anything. It was just a silly little party favor prize that Klaus had paid too much for. It was as phony as those paper fish, or the ouija boards Klaus had but literally didn't need, or tarot cards. It didn't mean anything.

And yet, Diego couldn't stop himself from thinking about that night when he had collided with Ben at the stairs, how the underwear model on the magazine clipping looked just like Diego. There was no mistaking it. They could have been related. Maybe they were. Diego would never know. But the point was, it had to mean what Diego thought it meant. It had to do something with the result he saw on the mood ring on Ben's finger.

_Right?_

He groaned again, releasing his face from the pillow and turning to his clock. The time read 2:37. That was the same time Diego had risen out of bed that night he ran into Ben. He sat up and wondered.

Wonder took him slowly to the bedroom door, where he carefully opened it without making a sound and curiously peered out. Wide eyes stared out into the hallway.

Darkness and silence, and no one there. No Ben. Nobody at all.

 _This is stupid_ , he thought, and began to shut the door again, when he heard some quiet footsteps. He had been trained to pick up on them.

He shut the door until there was only a crack and stared out at the nearby stairwell. Sure enough, he soon saw a pair of feet heading down it ever so softly and slowly, almost soundless and motionless. As the figure made its way down, step by step, Diego's eyes adjusting to the darkness all the while, he began to identify the thin, small person as Ben. And as the boy hurried almost silently into his room, Diego could have sworn he also caught the image of a torn page clutched in his hand.

It was that magazine clipping again. He shut his door only moments after Ben shut his, and collapsed on the bed.

This wouldn't settle Diego's swarming thoughts at all.

He decided he would talk to Five in the morning.

-

"Hey, Five?" Diego asked the next night, swinging into the boy's room, whose door he'd just unlocked.

Five didn't seem to pay much attention to the intrusion. At least, he didn't appear to mind the barging in. Instead, he was focussed intensely on his writings on the wall, chalk in hand and his piercing eyes alight with thought. "Yes?" he barely muttered, eyes narrowing at an equation. 

"I have a question," said Diego, sitting down on the bed near Five. The boy seemed very disturbed now to have himself shaken, even if only slightly. He turned and glared at his brother.

"Well, if it involves breaking into Dad's safe again, forget it. He changed the pin number a week ago, so buzz off." Five turned back to the wall.

"No, no, no," Diego shook his head. "It's not that. I was wondering if you knew anything about...telepathy."

"My power is _teleportation_ , in case you've forgotten?"

Diego groaned. "I know. But you're a know-it-all, and you read things. I thought that maybe you might have an answer."

"Ben reads more things. Ask him."

Diego blushed. "I can't."

Five groaned, scribbling out what he was writing on the wall and then smearing it with his sleeve. He threw the chalk across the room violently, angrilly huffing.

"Sorry?" Diego squeaked when Five plopped down on the bed next to him. Five rubbed his hands across his face and shook his head with a sigh.

"It's not you. I'm trying to figure out this stupid time travel thing, but things aren't adding up."

"Oh, sorry." Diego didn't really know what to say. He walked over and picked up the chalk, then handed it back to Five on the bed, who took it with a short smile and turned away.

He took a deep breath. "What is your question, Diego?"

"Uh, w-well," Diego stammered, trying to figure out how to ask, and picturing the words in his mind. "Well, I, uh, I was wondering about mood rings. What do you know about them?"

Five's eyebrows creased. "Is this about Klaus's mood ring he bought, what, a week ago?"

Diego crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm asking the questions."

"I'll take that as a yes," Five said and rolled his eyes, sitting up on the bed. He sighed again. "I know that mood rings are bullshit. There's no science to them, Diego. No magic. Just a little toy."

"Really?" Diego asked. For some reason, that didn't make him feel bad, but it didn't make his heart feel good, either.

"Really. It turns different colors based on how warm you are. The chart is based on temperature." Five stood back up on his bed and began to look at the equations again. 

Diego sat for a moment, thinking. That made a lot of sense, actually. He smiled. There it was. The ring was bullshit, and Ben's results didn't mean anything. Diego was just imagining things. He turned to leave, feeling satisfied.

"Why couldn't you just ask Ben that?" Five asked, half-interested as he properly erased the smeared equation on the wall and began to rewrite it.

Diego's stomach lurched. He felt like a spotlight had been thrust upon him, and the whole world was watching, even though Five wasn't even looking at him or hardly acknowledging him.

"'Cause."

"I thought you two were close."

"We are."

"So what's up?" Five stopped writing, the smacking of the chalk against the wall at a halt, and stared.

Diego looked away. "Nothing. I don't know. I just-" he sucked in a breath of air. "I was asking _because_ of him. I didn't want to ask about it and have him think anything weird. I didn't want him to think I was weird."

"Hm." Five looked at him for a moment with a cocked eyebrow, then returned to his math. "Well, now _I_ think you're weird."

"Fine." Diego turned to leave, feeling less satisfied.

-

Diego couldn't sleep tonight either, something painful tugging at his heart.

So, the ring was bullshit. Right? So it meant Ben didn't necessarily like him. Now he could rest easily. No problem.

Only, there was a problem. Now Diego had a big problem. Ben might not have liked him, but Diego _definitely_ liked Ben.


	3. Scientific Method

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He stopped, freezing when he reached his bed. Sat on his pillow, there it was. The ring. It was just sitting there.
> 
> Diego sat and stared.
> 
> Ben knew.

This plan was ridiculous.

But, Diego had already endured the pestering from Klaus for asking to borrow it, and he'd already managed to sneak the door of Ben's room open without him noticing, so he had to see it through. Clutching the mood ring in his hand, Diego took a deep breath in and entered. 

God, it was too early for this.

Ben was asleep in his bed, a book placed over his face and his hand flopping over the side of the bed. _Perfect._ Diego strode forward, plan in mind. Somehow, he was going to put the ring on that hand and test what it would do.

Ben's heater had broken weeks ago, so the air in his bedroom was cold. Almost _too_ cold, even for the early winter morning. And Ben's hands were almost always deathly chilly when Diego touched them, so if Five was right about the temperature theory, then there would be no reason for it to turn scarlet again. _Right?_

Crouching down beside the sleeping boy, Diego held his breath. He didn't need to breathe anyway, technically.

Moving ever so slightly, as deathly still as an old turtle, Diego slipped the ring on. When it was securely on his finger, Ben's hand twitched, and Diego almost had a heart attack. Then when he was sure the boy was still deep in his dreams, he took out from his back pocket the card of colors and held it next to Ben's ring finger, eyes staring between them.

The color on the ring had turned from a blank white to a gloomy, dark grey. Diego scanned the chart and landed on a matching shade at the bottom. Beneath the square, it read, 'Tired'.

Diego stood, looking at it in concentration. The card was right. Ben was sleeping, and thus, tired. If red was the color for a very warm hand, then wouldn't blue be the one for a super cold one? The ring had to be right. 

Maybe Ben's hand wasn't very cold right now, though, Diego guessed. Impulsively, he touched his own hand to Ben's to check, and felt how cold it was with a jump.

Equally startling was the fact that Ben began to stir.

"Hm?" he mumbled, sitting up in his bed, the book sliding off of his face onto the floor. He rubbed his eyes and blinked them open, confused. "Diego?" he asked groggily. "What are you doing here?" Immediately, Ben seemed awake, when only mere seconds ago he was fast asleep.

Diego stared like a thief who had been caught red-handed and let Ben's icy fingers go. "Oh! Good morning, Ben," he chuckled, shoving the card back in his back pocket.

Ben stretched, looking around the room, then back at Diego. Something about him was quiet and offset. "Morning. What's up? Why are you in my room?"

Diego stammered. "U-u-uh-" he heaved, his lungs feeling suddenly tight, despite his lack of a need for oxygen. "Um, I..." His eyes glanced down impulsively, and glanced at Ben's hand at the ring. To Diego's surprise, it was now a deep, crimson color. The color of either sexual arousal or romance, according to the chart in his pocket.

"I was going to ask to borrow...uh...War and Peace," Diego lied, shoulders tight against his neck.

Ben's eyebrows creased. "I put it back in the library." His voice still radiated confusion.

Diego rushed out in a hurry, eager to leave the situation. "Thanks!" he called, slamming the door behind him. "See you at breakfast."

It was only when Diego was back in his room that he had realized that he had left Klaus's mood ring on Ben's finger.

-

To Diego's surprise, Ben didn't say anything to him at breakfast. He didn't even look at him, really. But that wasn't unusual. He didn't look at anyone. As always, he was reading at the table, a book titled Jane Eyre open in front of him, and nothing particularly amiss or out of the ordinary about him. 

_And why should he be, really?_ Diego thought. Sure, Diego had left the ring on his hand, but maybe Ben had rationalized some other explanation out of it.

Diego shoved a spoonful of pancake into his mouth and relaxed. He had no reason to be acting like such a girl about it. 

But that didn't stop Diego's heart from aching. He still knew how he felt about Ben. He began to play with the eggs on his plate, and glanced up at the boy longingly, to find to his surprise, that he was already staring back. After a moment, he smiled, then looked back down at his book.

Despite how that made Diego's heart skip a beat, and how his eyes lingered on him for the rest of the meal, Ben didn't look at him for the rest of the meal.

-

Maybe Diego was overthinking this. This was Ben he was talking about. His lifelong friend, his teammate and his brother. That mood ring was absolutely crazy. There was no way to tell emotions from just a touch to someone's skin. Five was right. It was all bullshit. Those morning results be damned.

He sighed, opening his door that night and entering slowly. No matter how he felt for Ben, there was no way he felt the same way. Ben looked at him like just his classmate and friend, not with rose-tinted glasses. Diego was just imagining things. Over-analyzing them. He was _definitely_ overthinking this. 

Then he stopped, freezing when he reached his bed. Sat on his pillow, there it was. The ring. It was just sitting there.

Diego sat and stared.

Ben knew.

It was a message. 

After a moment, he grabbed the ring and headed to Ben's room.

-

Ben was posed in the most intense of reading positions when Diego unlocked the door and swung in. He took a moment, placed his bookmark in the pages and shut it before even sitting up and looking at Diego. When he did, he tilted his head, silently staring and waiting for him to speak first.

Diego shut the door behind him, which made Ben raise his eyebrows, swallowing. "Hey," he forced himself to say.

"Hey," Ben replied, smiling to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

Diego felt his heart beat a little faster. "Um," he muttered. "I..." He didn't really know what to say, so he simply held up the ring to Ben, who looked at it carefully. "Mind telling me why I found this on my pillow?" he finally asked.

"Mind telling me why I found it on my finger?" he shot back, swinging his legs over the bed and facing Diego.

Diego paused, feeling himself begin to go hot. Approaching slowly, he said, "I was testing something."

"Testing what?" Ben asked, scooting closer as Diego neared his bed. His face was eager, but his presence was quiet and still.

Diego swallowed. "A theory."

"You're going to have to be more clear," Ben chuckled.

"I was...wondering about something," Diego felt embarrassment crawling up his spine like a spider. "A-a-a-about the mood ring. L-l-last week. When you tried it on..." He trailed off, looking away and rubbing his neck. Fuck. He was being as shy as Vanya.

Ben stood, stepping over to Diego until they were very close. Quietly, he asked, "When it turned red?"

Diego met his eyes again. They were enchanting. "Yes."

Ben grabbed the mood ring from Diego's hand. His hands were cold, but the ghost of his touch felt warm on Diego's skin. He fiddled with the ring in his hands, looking down at it and asking, "So did you find your answer then? To your theory?"

Diego grabbed Ben's hand gently, then the ring. Ben watched with wide eyes as the boy slowly slipped it onto his finger and waited. When it turned unmistakably strawberry red again, he said, "I did."

Ben looked into his eyes, hand still held in Diego's. After searching his expression, he said, "And what's your verdict?"

Diego took a deep breath. He had to be honest now. "That you want me to fuck you?"

Ben was dazed for a moment, just staring.

"Was I correct?"

"Maybe. Depends. Do you want to?" His face was thrilled, yet afraid.

Diego answered by leaning in and kissing him. Ben moved back for a moment, then accepted it. Diego grabbed his face, kissing deeper, and then suddenly, he pulled back. Ben was just staring at him again, eyes wide and wonderous.

“I-I-I-I’m,” Diego stuttered. He wondered if he should have done that. “Was that okay? I d-d-didn’t mean to-“

Ben kissed him again, pushing him down into the bed quickly and impatiently. Now, everything was out on the table. Revealed. They had nothing to hide. Soon they were horizontal, kissing together on the bed as Diego made first a noise of surprise, then arousal as his hands floated to Ben's back and face.

Ben broke away. “That was more than okay. God, I wanted this,” he whined, lifting a leg around Diego to straddle him.

Diego bit his lips as their tenting groins met. “Me too, fuck.”

“I still don’t know how Klaus’s mood ring could tell. Stupid snitch of a thing,” he laughed, then pressed his lips to Diego’s again. Diego smiled, his mouth occupied. His hand skimmed down to Ben’s pants, where he grabbed his ass tight. Ben yelped, drawing back. He blushed, gasping as Diego continued to grope him, chuckling.

“Oh, don’t be shy, baby,” Diego said, tugging Ben’s pants down until they pooled at the knees. “You want to?”

Ben bit his lip and nodded, eyes darkening with arousal as he looked down at Diego. He grabbed his underwear and shoved them down too, then began to unbutton his shirt in haste. Diego followed, lifting up his hips and stripping his pants and underwear in one swift move. When Ben sat down again to straddle Diego, their hard dicks met, and Ben let out a little noise of pleasure.

“Have you ever done this before?” Diego asked, removing himself of his shirt and returning his hands to Ben’s ass, which was seated comfortably on his groin.

Ben blushed. Sweeping his hair away shyly, he said, “No.”

Diego breathed out, “Oh.”

“Have you?” Ben’s eyes sparkled in the moonlight cast from his window. His pale frame was illuminated in the dim light beautifully. His dark eyelashes fluttered as he blinked, unaware of how his appearance made Diego have to catch his breath. He inhaled.

“I have. Once. A year ago. Lost my virginity to some girl.” Diego tried to keep his answer short. He didn’t want to dwell on her. He changed the subject back to Ben. “You want to lose your virginity, baby?”

Ben seemed to be fine with that too. “Yes. Fuck, yes. God, Diego, please.” Ben ground his hips against Diego’s and let out a gorgeous, drawn out moan, eyes squeezing shut.

Diego groaned. “You’re so needy, angel. You want it that bad?”

Ben nodded, hips beginning to rock desperately. He whimpered. “I want it. I want you Diego.” His voice was breathy and pleading like Diego had never heard it. Both of them knew Ben was giving Diego what he wanted to hear, but he wasn’t lying, either.

Diego reached up and licked his hand, then grabbed both of their dicks, beginning to pump them, and Ben’s whole body went rigid. His mouth flew open, and he gasped, loud and debauched, as Diego continued to stroke up and down each of their lengths, flushed pricks frotting together. Soon, Ben's moans became uncontrollable.

"Oh god, oh god-" Ben choked, his voice getting higher and higher. His hands were already starting to shake as his hips jutted forward involuntarily with need.

"Fuck baby, you're not gonna come already, are you? Just from this?" Diego asked, twisting his wrist and tightening his grip. He swiped his thumb over some precome that had formed on the head of his cock and used it to slick them up more.

Ben shook his head, lips pressing together. "No, not yet. N-not-I don't-"

Diego lifted his hand off and held Ben's rocking hips still. "I don't want you coming yet," he muttered with a slight chuckle.

Ben looked like he was resisting the urge to buck his hips forward again, Diego's fingers hot on his skin. He then jumped as he felt one of them skim down to his ass, where Diego's finger brushed against his hole. 

"You ready?" he asked. 

Ben reached up and bit his finger, then breathed out, "Yes."

Diego pressed his first finger in deeply, eliciting a sweet gasp from Ben. The boy's back arched as he lifted himself on and off of Diego's finger before Diego could even begin to fuck him on them himself. He watched the boy move with arousal, saving the mental image of it all in his mind for later; His open mouth, his long eyelashes sealed shut, his pale, beautiful skin. And jesus, his little gratifying noises were doing wonders on his own cock, which begged to be touched again.

"A-a-another." Ben sounded more composed now, and his shoulders were less tense, so Diego moved another in. Ben gasped again, this time moaning as he fucked himself on the other's hand. Before long, he relaxed again. "M-more," he barely whined.

Diego added a third finger, and Ben began to move earnestly. He bit his finger, trying to muffle the little breathy gasps and noises he was making as Diego began to curl his fingers inside of him.

His dark eyes looked down at Diego again, and Diego realized how much he'd missed them. "Fuck, I've wanted this so long. I can't believe this is happening," he said. "I'm so happy. Can you tell?"

Diego's eyes trailed up and down Ben's twitching body, then up to his face. "I don't know. Put on the mood ring and let's see," he laughed.

Ben smiled, shaking his head. Then his breaths started coming in shorter, and his face faded into deep arousal again. "Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god. Diego-"

"You want it now, sweetheart?" Diego asked, sensing what Ben meant. When he nodded, Diego let out a breathy, short laugh, and took his fingers out of Ben, who whimpered at the release. Ben was lost on words, his eyes glassy with lust.

"You're going to have to be more clear," he teased. Ben chuckled, and leaned in and kissed him. When his lips barely broke away, he muttered against his mouth, "I want it now. Fuck me, Diego. I want your dick. Please."

"Well, when you ask so nicely," Diego panted and grabbed Ben by the hips, flipping them over. Ben let himself be moved, staring in enchantment up at Diego as he took his aching dick in hand. After licking it and giving him a few more strokes, he lined it up with Ben's hole. Ben held his breath as Diego moved in, and let out a long, breathy moan as the head slid inside him.

"You gonna be able to take it all?" Diego asked as he slowly slid himself further in. Ben whimpered, spreading his legs wider as Diego bottomed out, his hips pressed against Ben's ass comfortably. "Ah, good boy," Diego groaned. "Taking it all for me. Too much?"

Ben opened his mouth, hands gripped tightly on Diego's biceps as he slowed his laboured breathing. He then opened his eyes, staring at Diego with dark, blow out pupils as he began to move out, then back in again. Diego adored his subtle expressions as he looked up into Diego's eyes even more than every little noise and movement he made with each thrust.

Ben leaned up and kissed him before saying, "No. Keep going. Faster."

Diego listened, beginning to move his hips in earnest, finding it hard to not just buck wildly into Ben and chase his release. He still had some composure left, despite how deliciously tight the boy was, and how Diego could feel it every time he writhed and shivered beneath him. It was sending vibrations all throughout his body. He placed a hand beside Ben's head for leverage, beginning to move faster still. Soon, the boy's noises and pants became breathless and incoherent, until they were nothing short of pure bliss. Diego looked down. His dick, red and standing up straight, looked right about to release. His composure dissolved.

"Oh, baby," he whined. "You wanna come?"

Ben gasped and shuddered as Diego thrust all the way in, now hitting his g-spot again and again. "Yes!" he cried. " _Diego_!"

Diego reached up and grabbed his sensitive prick and managed to stroke him only a few times before he was spilling onto both of their chests. His back arched off the bed as he cried, shuddering and tightening around Diego. Diego moaned with Ben, almost coming as the boy, tighter around him, rode out his orgasm. Diego stroked him through it until he was spent.

"Oh god," Ben breathed as he caught his breath, relaxing his spine against the bed. Diego willed himself to pull out as the other did, his dick softening on his stomach. Diego swept his dark hair out of Ben's face where it had stuck to his forehead and leaned in to kiss him.

"Hey, you haven't come," he mumbled against Diego's mouth. Diego groaned, hips bucking forward. "I know," he said.

Ben broke apart and whispered into his ear, "Then come on me. You wanna paint me?"

Diego's breath hitched at the thought of it. "God, yes. Fuck." He leaned in, hungrily kissing Ben's neck and down his chest, drinking in the smell of him. His hand gripped himself again and he sat up, jerking himself back to his edge. 

"You're such a tease, you know that?" he panted, working his cock in fast, firm strokes as Ben laid out beneath him. Ben blushed. "God, I could come just from looking at you, ah-"

"Wait, Diego-" Ben said, sitting up and grabbing him by the hip. "I need you to understand...I've wanted this for so long. Wanted you inside me. Wanted you touching me. What I would have given to see you like this."

"Fuck, yeah?"

"Yeah. I'd touch myself thinking of you. Thinking of watching all this. I need to take it all in," he said, his emotions showing through. 

Diego felt the precome pooling at his head and his hips bucked. Ben's pretty eyes, looking straight into his, were going to send him over the edge. "Me too, babe. Ah, god," he panted, stroking himself desperately now as Ben laid back down. "You're so pretty. Ah, Ben!"

Ben tried to resist the urge to cover himself up out of shyness and instead spread himself out further, looking up at Diego with glassy, half-lidded eyes and wet lips. "Do, it, Diego," he said, and Diego moaned, coming onto Ben and coating his stomach in his come, stroking himself until he was dry.

When he had collapsed onto the bed next to him and relaxed, Ben finally spoke, "Hey, so maybe I didn't think this through." He then looked up, to see that the boy was looking down at the mess splattered all over his chest.

Diego chuckled, leaning over to Ben's bedside table and grabbing some tissues. As he began to clean up the boy's stomach, Ben hummed. "Thanks."

"Thank you."

"Hey, Diego?" he asked, as if he didn't already have his attention. With big, worried eyes, he asked, "Do you want to...do this again? Or did you just want this? I said some stupid stuff a minute or two ago, I don't know if-"

"Hey-" Diego cut him off, setting the tissues aside and grabbing Ben's wrist. He leaned in and kissed him, then said in a low voice, "I'd drive myself insane if we didn't do that again. I really like you, Ben."

Ben smiled. "Yeah?"

"Here," said Diego, grabbing the ring that had been discarded on the floor earlier and putting it on his finger. Almost in seconds, it turned a bright red color.

Ben laughed, kissing him again. "Whatever. Mood rings are still bullshit anyway."


End file.
